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 Replies: 45 / Views: 4,188 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1227 Posts |
Bryan, since he hasn't replied to my "do you want the 1878 back?" I think yours is the course of action I'm going to take. He's not just a dealer--he's selling off a collection he's put together over 60 years, which suggests to me he needs the money. On one hand, he would know the shilling got a good home and wasn't just being flipped for silver value--but on the other, it's a $20 coin. If you need the money, that's a lot of it to lose. I thought I could return it with a note that I appreciate his honesty and want to repay in kind.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1374 Posts |
Yeah, I would definitely send the wrong coin back, whether he asked for it or not.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3167 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
Okay, here is where we stand: I got his new package today, containing my damaged* shilling and also a 1937 Buffalo nickel (not a D, not a three-leg, before anyone asks). The nickel was very pretty and tempting and is a year I don't have, so I included some money for the nickel (I found pricing of about $17 for UNC and $2 for XF, nothing for AU; I split the difference and sent $5). My package included the 1878 shilling wrapped in the $5 and a handwritten note telling him what should be in the envelope and thanking him for his kindness and honesty; it went to PostNet tonight and should be on its way to Texas tomorrow. *for those just joining this program who don't want to backread, I knew it was damaged when I bid on it--this is the reason I was able to afford it. |
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Moderator
 United States
15483 Posts |
I suggest that both you and the seller have done the proper thing ... I see no 'moral dilemma' at all here.
IMHO this is simply a case of being honest and living a responsible life ... pleased to learn from the comments above that both of you are meeting that standard.
David
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Valued Member
United States
77 Posts |
So hes messed up multiple times and gave you wayyyy over the auction win and still hasn't asked for it back?
Edited by Sean1125
10/12/2012 11:43 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
Sean, It was a single mixup--he sent me a worn but undamaged 1878 shilling, instead of the damaged 1881 I purchased. Seen from the back the two are almost identical in-hand, so I can understand where the mixup came from. The shilling I purchased was about $5; the one he sent was worth about $20. When I asked what he wanted to do, he mistook my concern for displeasure (I think) and sent the shilling I had bid on, plus a Buffalo nickel "as compensation." I personally felt if anyone was owed compensation, it was him--hence my original question. @nickelsearcher--eBay has always been a funny business for me. I finally went with "If I were in a store and accidentally walked out with an unpaid item neither the clerk nor I noticed was in my cart . . . " as my guide. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1195 Posts |
Interesting story here! I bet he'll be  when he gets your note. An awesome, kick in the head development would be if he sent you that shilling back insisting that you keep it. Edited by argentum
10/13/2012 12:57 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
Oh lord, if he sent it back I would be myself. And then tucking it very carefully away, because it's a lovely coin to me both in terms of aesthetics and sentiment (I'm not related to Arthur Conan Doyle, so I've just sort of retroactively adopted him as a great-great-great-great-cousin a couple of times removed; hopefully he doesn't mind). The one I actually bid on looks like someone wasn't too fond of Her Majesty--there are hack marks across her face. I'm also okay with that, though; if coins could talk! I like to imagine it was a mishap rather than intentional vandalism; what a fun story that would be. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1374 Posts |
*CLAP!* and a cheers! Invite him to coin our community!!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3486 Posts |
And/or send the seller a link to this topic.
There are people here who would like to say thank you.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
Got a reply last night--he thanked me for sending back the 1878 and told me the buff was supposed to be a gift. I told him I hoped he wouldn't be offended that I felt badly about just flat-out taking what, to me, is a valuable coin. Also requested a combined total on a couple of other lots I picked up from him and told him I thought he'd infected me with the foreign-coins bug, which is apparently quite amusing (I'm gonna need a bigger shoebox).
I will pass on the link! (See, and this "gift" thing is precisely why I asked in the first place--I had the fortune to grow up in a town full of teensy mom and pop stores and the misfortune to usually have to shop corporate places anyway.)
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2781 Posts |
if he offers to pay the return shipping then send him back the coin.
chances are it's cheaper for him to let you keep it.
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Valued Member
291 Posts |
Quote:
I personally felt if anyone was owed compensation, it was him I don't see the logic in that. He sent the wrong coin, not you. Frankly I think you are making too much of this entire incident. If you ask me it's a lot of fuss and feathers over a trivial amount.  Edited by Senex
10/14/2012 12:26 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
To you it might be a trivial amount, Senex, but here's what $20 is to me:
--gas to and from work for a week
--a week's food
--half of a new pair of work shoes
--1/6 my car insurance for one month
--a haircut
--two oil changes for my car
That's without touching on amenities: $20 is half of a concert ticket in nosebleed, a new skirt, a meal out with a friend, and 1/3 of what I need for Christmas presents.
When you're poor, you think of money very differently. I don't think it's trivial to say that if he sent me the correct coin, plus a valuable second coin in apology, that I should worry over the first, not-chump-change-itself, incorrect coin.
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Replies: 45 / Views: 4,188 |
First Page
Posted 10/10/2012 11:13 pm
